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Feed of posts on WordPress.com tagged "zero-suit"Sun, 02 Aug 2015 18:25:16 +0000http://en.wordpress.com/tags/enhttps://geekmovement.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/metroid-2-4-bview/
Mon, 25 May 2015 01:54:09 +0000geekmovementhttps://geekmovement.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/metroid-2-4-bview/Hey people, it’s me again! Here with another “Bview” This time on not one, but two video games! Oh boy! Even though the two in mention released quite some time ago, I had the pleasure of playing and beating both of them recently. One after the other in fact.

So if you’re not familiar with the Metroid series, to put it in a nutshell as best as possible would be to state that it’s a story about a galactic bounty hunter. Female mind you, which I personally find awesome. No, not because Nintendo created her to look as attractive as she does for a video game character. Awesome because it is rare to even see a female lead in a video game, thats actually great to play.

I myself at this point have completed just about every Metroid game (except Hunters), and I must say…or type rather, that our lead in the series, Samus Aran, is one tough chick. Taking on freaky looking, aggressive alien life forms in dark places on distant planets solo? Samus is no joke!

After playing the previous installments and knowing just how creepy the game can get, I found Metroid 2 and 4 (though “primitive” by todays standards, but great when it was in its PRIME-HA! Get it?…no?…ahem*) to be just as entertaining and just as creepy as it’s future installments.

If you know Metroid games, you know that they can sometimes pack some pretty sweet jump factors if your guard isn’t up. Metroid 2, despite maps not existing back then which made it a headache to go through, I’d say was an okay game all in all. As Samus ventures deeper into the planet, doing what she does, the Metroids become more and more aggressive. One even caught me off guard as it blended into it’s surroundings. I enjoyed this game, and now fully see the connection between Metroid 2 and 3, which is pretty much the Super Nintendo installment perhaps many of you have played or not: “Super Metroid”. I’d say Metroid 2 was “Trigger Happily Pleasant”.

Metroid 4 however…pffttt..talk about creepy. Not only is the series already filled with creepy factors dealing with alien life forms and environments, but Metroid 4 brought it’s A-game when it comes to things that can make ones eyes widen..even if it’s just a little bit.

The story takes place after the events in Super Metroid. This game is pretty much where many of you have seen the different color variations of her suit when you change it while playing Super Smash Brothers. So there is this virus right? Not only does it make Samus sick, but it takes over her suit! As in it becomes like a freaky evil clone, which can be seen in the very creepy and detailed cut scenes. Absolutely loved this one. Especially because this was after maps were created in the game *fist pump*. As oppose to Metroid 2, which went deep, but no map…so I easily got lost. Also, after playing Metroid 4, the connection between it and Metroid:Other M became clear as well. Metroid:Other M in my opinion was cool…but to see Samus in that light was kinda unnerving. Ya girl is known for her tough exterior and take no cow-pie type attitude. Other M…was the start of her career though. Kinda like How The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword would be the start for Link. So in Other M…Samus…well…lets just say it was interesting to see how she thought and acted when so young, and what made her get so serious.

Ever play Resident Evil 3? With the big guy following you around everywhere you went? Metroid 4 kinda reminded me of that. This virus that took over her suit and weapons, which was actually a life form even more deadly than Metroids, became stronger than Samus..at first of course. These things, which were like Metroids, but with brains, turned out to be a bigger threat than both Samus and I expected. All in all, it was a great game! Metroid 4, or Metroid Fusion rather, I would say is was “Entertainingly Creepy”.

Both games were definitely worth my little Nintendo coins earned for games I’ve collected ^_^

You can find some cool Metroid Dlc if you have a copy of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the 3ds or 2ds.

I’d also suggest checking out Metroid Manga too!

Thanks again for reading and visiting us! Don’t forget, Turn up!….haha just kidding.

Turn on! Tune in! and Geek out!

-Ben!

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Thu, 09 Oct 2014 12:11:19 +0000Boss Bronzehttps://vgarmada.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/gameroween-2014-video-game-characters-that-make-good-costumes-samus-aran/https://fovgames.com/2014/08/22/sexysamus/
Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:00:49 +0000A. Kocikhttps://fovgames.com/2014/08/22/sexysamus/After years of at first being oblivious to it and then ignoring it, I’ve finally had enough with game designers treating us all like 12-year-old boys neck deep in puberty. Growing up and watching my father play video games, or while playing them myself, my heroes were generally male. I was more interested in Cloud than the busty whiner Tifa in Final Fantasy VII. Solid Snake was so much cooler than the bland Meryl. Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot and Sir Daniel Fortesque (from MediEvil) were all male and I loved playing their games. The only cool female character I had to look up to was Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Unfortunately, It was difficult to really look up to her considering her monstrously oversized cleavage.

Although it was lost on me at the time, women characters usually fell short because there was so much focus on making them look nice over actually developing their personality. I believe Lara was an exception only because the whole game centered around her so they had to make her at least semi-interesting. Once I had my own Nintendo 64, Super Smash Bros introduced me to the amazing world of Samus Aran. She was tough, smart and had a fantastic background story, all in fricken space. It dawned on me that perhaps not all women were boring. Most recently, I loved the reboot of Tomb Raider because Lara felt like an actual person. I totally disagree with those who say her actions didn’t match up with her conveyed emotions or that she was too whiny to succeed. It started to give me a bit of hope.

Screenshot by Alexandra Kocik The reboot takes the old concept and improves upon it for the modern gaming community.

But that didn’t last long. Now that there are countless rage rants about the objectification of women in video game and with the fact that the amount of female and male gamers is nearly split down the middle, you would think there would be more action toward treating female protagonists as people.

And then this post popped up on my Facebook feed:

“Thanks to the determination of her female designer, these Zero Suit outfits got completed in time. From the ending of Metroid: Zero Mission, here’s Samus in shorts! You can use the same outfit variations in both the 3DS and Wii U versions.”

It’s not that they are stripping an awesome space bounty hunter and saver of universes down to her knickers that bugs me. I have come to accept that the jiggle physics in Dead or Alive volleyball series is not aimed at me. That’s fine, if your passion are lady parts and I’m not being forced to play it, please purchase and enjoy it. The thing that ticked me off about this particular announcement for the upcoming Super Smash Bros is the fact that they added the approval of a “female designer” to the mix. As though on any other post I would scoff and be upset, but because a fellow female put the big check of approval on it, I’d go along with it. WRONG.

Maybe it’s because I have always seen the Wii U as the dumbest “next gen” idea ever. Most likely, and bear with me for a moment, it stems from my disappointment with Samus in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Ignoring the age-old argument of how less armor in reality would equal a higher likelihood of death in combat, there is the fact that playing as Zero Suit Samus sucks. You are stripped of iconic abilities and weapons; Morphball techniques, the super annoying (to enemies) energy grenades and high-powered rocket-and-laser-gun combo. Instead, using Samus’ uber Final Smash ability makes her undress and become faster and squishier to attacks. She looks more like she should be on the bridge putting in coordinates for Captain Kirk than engaging in battle.

Yeah, I have that much time on my hands.

But my real rage isn’t about the Zero Suit at all. It’s not like they have completely discarded the Power Suit. I don’t have to play as Samus and I can see the merits in having more than one character that changes the way they play on the fly in the middle of a fight. I’m really angry with the fact that the focus on making female characters is always focused on their looks rather than making them interesting. Samus’ backstory involves planets exploding, her DNA being altered for the sole purpose of being a killing machine and fighting wars singlehandedly. But she’s dumb enough to strip off her armor mid battle and step into a stealth suit while fighting against enemies with swords? Of course. And now she’s going to be wearing a sports bra and booty shorts, because she’s a woman and apparently the only expression of femininity is a nearly naked female body.

I think this Samus example has me so riled for two reasons. First, she has a special place in my heart and secondly, things just seem to be getting worse in this industry instead of being more inclusive. I’m not saying that every character has to have their ankles covered at all times, just give people more choices. I shouldn’t have to deal with Zero Suit Samus. Others should be able to objectify and strip her down as much as Nintendo thinks is okay. But don’t you dare pretend that because a woman okays something, then suddenly there will be fewer complaints about how genders other than male don’t really matter in this industry. The proof lies in the treatment of characters and how males “evolve” in appearance versus their female counterparts.

I’ll leave it with this question that a Facebook user posted on that Super Smash Bros announcement: So when do I get my ripped and shirtless Link? The game after that should have him wearing nothing but a banana hammock. After all, that’s apparently how many other popular characters change and grow.

As a longtime fan of Nintendo and Super Smash Bros, something has been bothering me these past few days, and that’s the amount of controversy that Zero Suit Samus has been receiving for her character design in this game. People, some which call themselves “feminists” have been complaining that with her “enhanced” features, and her new rocket-powered stilettos her appearance has been overly sexualized for the new game. Although I can understand where they’re coming from, in my opinion, it comes down to one thing at the end of the day: intimidation.

Zero Suit Samus..new and”improved”

They’re so caught up in criticizing her appearance that they don’t even consider that the look could just fit her personality. The accentuated features bother them so much that they feel the need to complain about it, instead of just seeing her as a regular character like the others. I don’t see anyone saying Mario should lose weight, or that Sonic is too scrawny, so why the focus on Zero Suit Samus?

The thing is, even though Samus is rarely seen speaking in video games, the fact that she’s usually operating independently and is a bounty hunter would suggest that she’s a very strong, confident character. She doesn’t need to justify why she does what she does. ,She represents self-confidence and self-independence, so the fact that she’s wearing heels or has a skintight suit seems like it’s her choice to do so. With all the trials Samus has been through, I can’t imagine her giving a shit if people think what she’s wearing is “too sexual”. She’s just another character at the end of the day, with her own personality, traits, and fighting style, so why are people getting so caught up in her physical appearance? If a woman with a large chest or wide hips is considered overtly sexual in a video game, then what is a woman like that considered in real life? Is she a slut just because you feel intimidated by her voluptuous figure? Shit, it’s a lot better than what a lot of other video game companies are doing. Go play Tecmo’s Dead or Alive, then come back and criticize Nintendo, a family-friendly company.

Depending on what you see as effective, that body suit may or may not be effective in battle.

If these critics really care so much about female representation, why don’t they bring up how so many of the other female fighters, still wear long dresses in video games, like Peach, Rosalina, Zelda, and Palutena, almost half of the female cast(4 out of 9) This isn’t the 1800s, and women aren’t just dainty princesses, who need a hero(or a plumber) to save them, so why are the dressed like they are? It’s a GOOD thing that you have females like ZSS who balance out the game from a physical appearance point of view. Some women don’t want to look like a damsel, they just want to look like a badass space warrior.

These kinds of people want stronger women in games to break away from the “damsel in distress” role , yet they complain about the appearance of a self-independent female in one. Do you REALLY want stronger women in video games, or just ones who don’t have boobs or an ass too defined for your tastes?

It’s not impossible to look like us, despite what some would want you to believe.

This piece was done entirely digitally in Manga Studio EX5, in order to practice digital sketching. As well as this my goals were attempting a more dynamic pose, in this case the pointing gesture, and a non-humanoid character in the Metroid. Below can be found some in-process screengrabs.

Initial digital sketch.

Inked lineart. Eyes were altered several times due to not looking quite right, as well as the foremost bang and ear.

Squeeze the juice out of half an orange and use a scoop to remove the pulp, leaving you with just a clean rind. Measure the juice to 1/2 oz. and blend all ingredients together and strain into a glass. Place the orange over the glass and serve.

MY THOUGHTS:

I find this is better served as a shot instead of a cocktail, while I have had it in both iterations. The drink overall is not very strong and tastes delicious.

Ms. Aran, it isn’t enough to be a capable professional with top-of-the-line equipment to get ahead any more.

We need to grab the 18-to-35 demographic by the pants and lash them to the hood of our car, Samus. It’s the only way to keep the business afloat. And we’re sorry, but keeping your power armor’s — what, 7,000 servos? — running like greased pigs isn’t cheap.

I mean, space marines are out, haven’t you heard? It was a bubble, a damn good bubble, but it’s fixing to burst any second. We know you were in on it before the Doom guy and what’s-his-face-from-Halo and Gears of War’s Marcus thickest-neck-in-the-business Fenix, but we can’t fight the tide.

What we can do is make a deal: You keep the power armor, the super missiles, the ice beam, everything. We wouldn’t change it for the world. But to keep the wheels turning and our market share climbing, you lose the suit for 40 percent of your screen time.

Whoa, sit down — think about this for a second! You’re a good looking woman, Samus! It’s a damn shame to keep your pretty face — and other, ahem, assets — canned up in that big orange behemoth!

(Sure, you’ll need a little work, we completely understand that scars come easy in your gig and you’re just a bit too muscular to line up with the focus tests, but we know a doctor the Dead or Alive girls swear by and the procedures will be 110-percent compensated, with all the time off you need to recover. For a week.)

Haha, put down the gun, sweetheart! We’re just talking business plans, nothing solid yet! But I like your angle there, perfect illustration of my point! Nobody wants you to stop kicking ass! You’re Samus Goddamn Aran, the best bounty hunter in the galaxy! We just want, you know, sexy ass kicking. Forty percent of the time.

Please, think about this for a second. Your skin’s nothing new under the sun, honey; we’ve all seen the “See You Next Mission” commemorative bikini calendar. A little bit of fanservice has been in your contract ever since you started with us. We’re just talking about expanding.

The Japanese guys you signed up with were smart as hell, but shortsighted. You can’t compartmentalize sexuality any more; you’ve got to ooze it in everything you do. Instead of a little cheesecake at the end, we’re just talking about making it a real part of your appearances.

Your audience has changed, Samus. They’ve grown up from little boys with full afternoons after school with nothing to do but explore Zebes with you to young men with jobs, busy college schedules, sometimes even families. A little peep show at the end if they blast through the game fast enough just isn’t going to hold their attention.

So let’s bring it back, let’s put it in perspective: Sixty percent of the time, you’re the same androgynous pile of alloys and power-ups we’ve all come to love and respect for the great strides she’s made in upending gender roles in gaming. Forty percent of the time, you’re the new Samus, who still kicks ass, but isn’t afraid of expressing her sexuality.